1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tool to produce an aperture through a tile of ceramic material or other workpiece of similar material. More particularly but not exclusively, it relates to a tool operated by piezoelectric transducer means to generate a cutting force in one direction and by a motor or other means to generate a force in a transverse direction.
2. Discussion of the Background
It is known to cut tiles or other brittle materials, henceforth referred to for convenience as tiles, which term includes glass and the like, by means of ultrasonic vibrations operating to produce repeated impacts of minimal amplitude on the surface to generate cracks within the tile or other material. As the tool is moved manually along the surface, a line of cracks is propagated and the tile will break in two.
However the method outlined above does not permit a hole to be cut in a tile. The method of crack propagation alone is not entirely applicable where it is desired not to split the tile, but to remove material from it, so as to form an aperture.